Modified version of the American College of Cardiology's recommendation for low-dose prothrombin complex concentrate is effective for warfarin reversal.

BACKGROUND: Dosing of four factor prothrombin complex concentrate (4PCC) for warfarin reversal remains controversial. Recently, the American College of Cardiology (ACC) recommended a low-dose PCC regimen as an option for warfarin reversal in acute major bleeding. We performed a retrospective study evaluating if a modified version of the ACC guideline recommendations was effective for warfarin reversal in acute major bleeds when compared to traditional variable dosing. METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study of patients who received 4PCC for warfarin reversal in a 12 month period. We included patients that were ≥18 years of age, received 4PCC for warfarin reversal, and had an initial International Normalized Ratio (INR) of >2. Our primary outcome was the number of patients who had a post-4PCC infusion INR of <1.6. RESULTS: A total of 60 patients were included in the final analysis with 30 patients stratified to the traditional dosing and low-dose groups, respectively. Patient demographics were similar between both groups. We found no difference in the number of patients who had a post-4PCC infusion INR <1.6 between the traditional dosing and low dosing group (90.0% vs. 86.7%; p = 0.68). Additionally, we found no difference between post-infusion median INRs in each group (1.35 vs. 1.30; p = 0.16). Approximately 1000 units per patient were spared when utilizing the low-dose regimen. CONCLUSION: A modified version of the ACC's low-dose 4PCC option for warfarin reversal achieves similar outcomes for lowering INR values compared to traditional variable dosing regimens.

Pharmacoeconomic impact of an alternative workflow process for stroke.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to evaluate a new multidisciplinary process in which intravenous alteplase (tPA) waste, used for acute ischemic stroke (AIS), was salvaged in an attempt to maximize cost effectiveness without impacting door-to-needle (DTN) administration times. DESIGN: This was a retrospective cohort between May 2017 and February 2018. The primary endpoint evaluated for this study was the total tPA salvaged and total cost savings in U.S. dollars. Secondary endpoints evaluated included overall DTN time in minutes. SETTING: Emergency department of a primary stroke center. PATIENTS: A convenience sample of sequential adult (>18 years) patients who received tPA in the ED for AIS were included for analysis. INTERVENTIONS: New stroke process which involved bedside mixing of tPA and salvaging of excess waste in the main central pharmacy. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: A total of 50 patients were included in the final analysis. There were 25 patients included in the new process and old process groups respectively. A total of 605 mg of alteplase was salvaged from 25 patients in the new process group which was associated with an estimated cost savings of over $120,000 annually. Patients in the new process group had statistically faster average (52 min vs. 60 min; p = 0.01) and median (50 min vs. 58 min; p = 0.03) DTN administration times. CONCLUSION: Preliminary data, in this pilot study, utilizing a multidisciplinary model for tPA administration led to significant cost savings of tPA and decreases in overall DTN administration times.

Hemorrhagic conversion after alteplase administration in a patient with vasculitis and acute ischemic stroke.

PURPOSE: A case of alteplase administration to a patient with vasculitis and acute ischemic stroke (AIS) is reported. SUMMARY: A 38-year-old woman with a recent diagnosis of granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) received alteplase for AIS and developed symptomatic hemorrhagic conversion. Published reports regarding the safety of thrombolytic therapy in patients with a high inflammatory burden are inconsistent. The current case adds to the literature on the topic. CONCLUSION: More data regarding alteplase treatment in patients with GPA are needed to further establish the safety of this therapy.